Adjustable ergonomic pillows

ABSTRACT

A triangular-shaped lower-body pillow has an upper and a lower triangular fabric panel joined along outer edges, seams joining the upper and lower fabric panels, forming a plurality of separate, fillable compartments, and closures along outer edges of the lower-body pillow, allowing access to the separate, fillable compartments. With the closures open, compartments are filled to a same or different thickness, and the closures are then closed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Divisional application of co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/166,842, filed Oct. 22, 2018 which claimspriority to provisional patent application 62/574,915, filed Oct. 20,2017, and all disclosure of the parent application is incorporated atleast by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The field and technology of the invention is that of sleeping apparatus.

2. Description of Related Art

In the art of sleeping apparatus at the time of filing the instantapplication, pillows typically cannot be adjusted in size, thickness orfirmness. If a pillow does not seem to be perfect for the user, the onlysolution is to buy a new pillow. What is clearly needed is an abilityfor a user to quickly and easily personalize the pillow for their ownsleeping preferences for height and firmness. Additionally, the idealsolution would allow the user to adjust the amount of filler material ineach compartment separately. This would allow the user to customizetheir pillow to be thicker and firmer in certain parts of the pillow andless so in other parts of the pillow. Such a solution is not known inthe art at the time of filing this application.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention a triangular-shaped lower-body pillow isprovided, comprising an upper and a lower triangular fabric panel joinedalong outer edges, seams joining the upper and lower fabric panels,forming a plurality of separate, fillable compartments, and closuresalong outer edges of the lower-body pillow, allowing access to theseparate, fillable compartments. With the closure open, compartments arefilled to a same or different thickness, and the closures are thenclosed.

In one embodiment corner seams are implemented across all three cornersof the upper and lower fabric panels, creating corner pockets. Also, inone additional pockets are created with parallel seams, parallel to oneof the three sides of the lower-body pillow, the parallel seams spacedapart and terminating at either edges of the lower-body pillow, or atcorner seams. Also, in one embodiment the closures are zippers. And inone embodiment filler material comprises one of or a blend of sheep'swool, cashmere, alpaca wool, silk shredded foam rubber, and shreddedimitation foam rubber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a head pillow in an enclosedstate.

FIG. 2 shows the head pillow in an opened state.

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the head pillow in the openedstate, displaying six inner volumes where filler material may be addedor removed by a user.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a removable and adjustable inner unit as partof the head pillow.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a body pillow in triangular shape.

FIG. 6 shows the body pillow, with a closure mechanism in opened state.

FIG. 7 illustrates a body pillow in use in an embodiment of theinvention, with a user lying on her back.

FIG. 8 illustrates a body pillow in use in an embodiment of theinvention, with a user lying on her side.

FIG. 9 illustrates a body pillow in use in an embodiment of theinvention, with a user sitting up.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A very important feature of the invention is modular assembly ofseparate portions of a pillow, and use of multiple compartments, eachaccessible from outside the pillow or compartment, so that volume andresiliency of different parts of the pillow may be adjusted to theparticular desires of a user, so the pillow may be personalized. The useof separate accessible pockets allows the user to experiment withdifferent fill levels in different parts of the pillow. Having multiplevolume compartments also allows the user to use a different fillermaterial in each volume compartment, if the user so desires.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a compound head pillow 100, in oneembodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 shows the head pillow 100 in aclosed state. In this embodiment a closure mechanism 104, beginning atone corner 101, passes around corners 102 and 103, along three sides ofthe head pillow. In this embodiment of the invention, the closuremechanism is a zipper. Other closure mechanisms may be used in otherembodiments, such as hook and loop fasteners or buttons.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of head pillow 100 which displays thehead pillow in an opened state. The opened state is achieved by openingthe closure mechanism that runs around three sides of the pillow, andfolding the outer panels apart. FIG. 2 illustrates an inner unit 200that is utilized for shaping the assembled pillow, and an outer unit 201that encloses the inner unit when folded and closed by closure 104.

Removable and adjustable inner unit 200 is designed to enable the userto add or remove filling material to and from three distinct pockets inthe unit, adjusting the height and firmness of the overall pillow in thethree separate and distinct pockets.

In one embodiment inner pillow 200 has three separate compartments 202,203 and 204, enabling the user to add or remove filler material fromeach compartment to adjust the height and firmness of each portion ofthe pillow. Access to the separate compartments of inner pillow 200 isdescribed below with reference to FIG. 4 . In one embodiment a user willlay the head over compartment 203, and compartments 202 and 204 will beto either side of the user's head. In one embodiment there is a smallcompartment 205 between compartments 202 and 204, across one edge ofinner pillow 200. In use, this compartment would lie directly beneaththe user's neck, and supports the neck.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of outer unit 201 in its opened state,displaying six inner volumes. An inner fabric panel 301 extends the fulllength and width of one-half of the inner unit, and an inner fabricpanel 302 extends the full length and width of the other half of theinner unit. These fabric panels are sewn on three sides, and each have aclosure mechanism along the fourth side. The closure mechanisms 303 and304 each extend the full width of one-half of the pillow. The closuremechanisms in this embodiment of the invention are zippers.

Four inner panels 305, 306, 307 and 308 are sewn to the outer and innerfabric panels across the full width of the outer unit, panels 305 and306 in the half covered by inner fabric panel 301, and 307 and 308 inthe half covered by inner fabric panel 302. These inner panels in oneembodiment separate each half of the inner unit into three distinctvolumes.

The inner panels 305 through 308 divide the two halves of the outer unitinto six separate volumes, volumes 309, 310 and 311 in one half, andvolumes 312, 313 and 314 in the other half. Each of the six compartmentsmay be packed with a filler material that may be seen in the figure inindividual ones of the compartments. The compartments may, in variousembodiments, be of different width.

There are different types of filler materials to be used depending onthe needs of the user. Wool is a common filler material. Otherembodiments of the invention may use cashmere, alpaca and silk, and inanother embodiment shredded foam rubber may be used. Some pillows mayhave different filler material in the different compartments. A user mayneed or prefer wool with more spring but are sensitive to the touch. Inthat case, they can have the top layer that is closest to skin filledwith cashmere, silk, or alpaca, then alpaca/wool blend or whatever incore (next layer down) then at very bottom coarse but supportive wool.There are a variety of options.

FIG. 4 displays one perspective view of the removable and adjustableinner unit 200. The inner unit is designed to allow the user to add orremove filler material adjusting the height and firmness of the pillowin three separate and distinct volumes 401, 402 and 403, withincompartments 202, 203 and 204. Again, there are a variety of fillermaterials that may be used, depending on the circumstances, and on thedesires of the user. It will also be apparent to the skilled person thatthe variations in height and firmness of the inner unit will beexperienced, not directly, but through the characteristics of the outerunit, described above with reference to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 4 shows inner pillow 200 with the three compartments 401, 402 and403 opened up, by virtue of opening a closure mechanism 404 that extendsacross the full width of the inner unit. Closure mechanism 404, in thisembodiment, is a zipper, but may, in other embodiments be another sortof closure.

With the compartments open, filler material may be seen in the two outerpockets, but there is no filler material in the middle pocket. Asdescribed above, for other compartments, this may vary according to auser's preference. Also, as mentioned before, there are different typesof filler materials depending on the needs or preferences of the user.In this example biodegradable material may be used to stuff the pillow.Wool is a common filler material. Other embodiments of the invention mayuse cashmere, alpaca and silk and another embodiment may use shreddedfoam rubber. Some pillows may have different filler material in thedifferent sections. A user may need or prefer wool with more spring butmight be sensitive to the touch. In that case, they can have the toplayer that is closest to skin filled with cashmere, silk, or alpaca,then alpaca/wool blend or some other material in core (next layer down)then at very bottom, coarse but supportive wool.

In another aspect of the invention a body pillow 500 is provided for usewith the lower body and legs. FIG. 5 displays body pillow 500 inperspective. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , the body pillow hasseven compartments. Dotted lines have been added to the figure toindicate the approximate location of six seams, 501 through 506, wherethe upper and lower fabric may be sewn together to form the sevencompartments in this example. In alternative embodiment, inner panelsmay be sewn between the upper and lower fabric panels, along the seamlines shown, to form the inner compartments. The number of pockets maybe different in other embodiments, and the location of seams may also bedifferent. For example, the corner compartments may be divided each intotwo compartments, so there would be a total of nine compartments. Aclosure mechanism 507, in this example a zipper, is shown along aportion of one side of the body pillow, to provide access to thecompartments for adjusting amount of filler in the pockets. There may,in some embodiments, be more closure mechanisms to give further accessto compartments.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the body pillow of FIG. 5 , with zipper507 open, providing access to at least some the compartments within. Inthis example, compartments are separated by inner panels such as panels601, 602 and 603. In this particular example, compartments 604, 605, 606and 607 are filled with wool, but, as described above, a variety ofdifferent filler materials might be utilized.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a person sleeping on the back, using a bodypillow 500 according to an embodiment of the invention, to support thehips and upper legs.

FIG. 8 is a view showing the same person sleeping on one side, using thebody pillow between the legs.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the same person sitting up, using the bodypillow behind the back, with wing compartments folded forward on eachside of the body.

In some embodiments of the invention pillows are created specificallyfor individuals, based on measurements specific to the individual. Thisservice provides a pillow that fits the needs of the subject, based onvarious shapes and measurements, to best fit the subject, just as a suitof clothes or a garment might be tailored to a specific person.

In one embodiment an individual's measurements art taken as follows:

-   -   The circumference of the head is measured and recorded    -   With the individual standing with right shoulder against a wall,        distance from the wall to the head in front of the ear is        measured and recorded. Distance from the wall to the side of the        neck is also measured and recorded    -   The measurements to side of head and neck are repeated with the        left shoulder against the wall    -   With the individual's back to the wall and heels touching,        measurement to the back of the head and to the back of the neck        from the wall are measured and recorded    -   Curvature length of the neck from the upper vertebrae to the        back of the head is measured and recorded

These measurements are considered when constructing a pillow,considering the surface of the wall as the surface of a mattress uponwhich the individual may use the pillow under construction. Individualpillows may thus be made to match the measurements for a user, so theuser may be supported in a natural position, rather than a distortedposition in use.

It will be apparent to the skilled person that there are a variety ofchanges that might be made in the embodiments illustrated and describedin this application, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Sizes may vary, as well as number and location ofcompartment, and access to compartments. Filling materials may alsovary, and different materials may be used in different compartments.There are many such variations in different embodiments.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A triangular-shaped lower-body pillow,comprising: an upper and a lower triangular fabric panel joined alongouter edges; a plurality of seams substantially parallel to one anotherand to the one outer edge of the lower-body pillow, the substantiallyparallel seams joining the upper and lower fabric panels, forming aplurality of separate, fillable substantially parallel compartments; andclosures along outer edges of the lower-body pillow, allowing access tothe separate, fillable substantially parallel compartments.
 2. Thelower-body pillow of claim 1, wherein corner seams are implementedacross all three corners of the upper and lower fabric panels, creatingcorner pockets, wherein the plurality of substantially parallel seamsterminate at edges of the lower-body pillow or at corner seams.
 3. Thelower-body pillow of claim 1, wherein the closures are zippers.
 4. Thelower-body pillow of claim 1 wherein compartments are filled with afiller material comprising one of a blend of sheep's wool, or cashmere,alpaca wool, silk shredded foam rubber, or shredded imitation foamrubber.